Last year CA 70.3 was my first pro race. This year I felt a lot less nervous and a lot more excited.
The swim felt good. I led the second pack of girls, just like last year. My
Zoot Prophet wetsuit was warm and I glided through even the choppy water by the turn around. Other than running into a large triangle buoy head-first (I apparently have
a problem with this...) I thought I was having a great swim.
Until I got out and my watch said 31:11. Ahhhhhhhhh what was that?! Oops! Guess there is still much work to be done.
These are my friends Jeff & Becky. Becky's due date is today. And seeing her out on the course cheering was awesome, along with all my other local friends.
Out onto the bike right in front of my friend
Lauren. I have put a lot of work into my bike this off season and my goal at this race was to lay down a solid bike split. Out of T1 the other goal became to hold off super-cyclist Lauren as long as possible. The back side of the course was quite windy. Other than struggling a bit to hold my watts up into the wind, the bike went by quick and I felt like my legs might not be there to run when I got off (which is what everyone kept telling me they should feel like). Lauren and I came back into T2 together. My 2:41 bike split was faster than last year and I felt that for the first time it wasn't light years away from the other pro girls.
Running at a home course race is so fun. I felt like every block I had a friend cheering me on. My goal for the run this year was to run a 1:25. In the past I have raced with my Garmin but after a mile or two I quit looking at it. (I have it set to avg. pace). This year I was determined to use it, and if the pace started to fall, pull it back down. It worked - I was on pace until about mile 10. Then it slipped a bit, and try as I might, even the Coke at the aid stations wasn't helping me hold it.
I ran a 1:27, which held my 13th place finish at 4:43. I'm very happy with the kick-off to 2011. It was a great day for racing in my back yard. Congrats to all the other girls out there that raced and made me work yesterday.
A big THANK YOU to my sponsors:
Zoot Sports for outfitting me with the best shoes around, along with every tri-related clothing item a girl could ever wish for. Profile Design for my aero bars and some suhweeeeeet wheels! Quintana Roo for a bike that I absolutely love. TriSports.com for carrying everything triathlon related and having such a great cheerful staff to help me when I call. ZipVit for fueling me along the way. SableWater Optics for allowing me to see while I swim. Extreme Endurance for keeping lactic acid at bay. Rudy Project for my rockin glasses and helmets. SCAPE labs for protecting my skin. MicroscopeWorld for many days when I leave work mid-day to ride out in the sunshine.
